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Man Found In Susquehanna River Identified

Maryland State Police have identified the man found in the Susquehanna River last week, and authorities said there appears to be no connection to the Phylicia Barnes case.

Police on Tuesday identified the man as Darryl Harper, 53, of Richmond, Va. Detectives said they were able to match his fingerprints to prints entered into a national missing persons database.

Authorities are still trying to figure out how Harper died.

His body was found south of the Conowingo Dam on April 20, just a few miles away from the body of a teen who was later identified as Phylicia Barnes, a 16-year-old North Carolina teen who had been missing from the Baltimore area since late December.

The Barnes cases garnered national attention, but no missing male had ever been linked to the case, so many were baffled when Harper's body turned up in similar condition the same day.

Harper's wife reported him missing on April 15. His wife told investigators that they lived in Cockeysville, Md., until February, when they moved to Richmond.

She said Harper had gone back to Cockeysville in March to pick up some items from their apartment. She said she talked to him during that time, but hadn't heard from him since.

Harper's wife told investigators that a relative called her later and said Harper had checked himself into a hospital on March 25 in East Penn, Pa., along the Susquehanna River, to get help with mental issues.

Police learned he stayed in the hospital for one night.

Harper's wife said her husband had told a relative in March that he was going to jump off a bridge. She told police her husband had tried to commit suicide in 2006.

Police said at this time, there's no connection between Harper and Barnes.